Southeast Is Rising

MICHAEL RUSSO ON THE NHL

November 17, 2002|MICHAEL RUSSO ON THE NHL

Hockey writers and TV analysts love to make fun of the Southeast Division, some dubbing it the SouthLeast.

But if the playoffs had started before Saturday's games, the Lightning, Hurricanes, Panthers and Capitals would be four of the eight teams representing the East. Oh, and those lowly Thrashers, they're 4-2-1-1 since going 0-8-0-1.

Obviously it won't end like this in April, but is there any doubt that each Southeast Division team has the foundation to make this division dominant in a few years?

"It will be," Panthers coach Mike Keenan says matter-of-factly. "It goes in cycles. That's what happens when you're picking the top players for a few years. It creates a young division but an up-and-coming one.

"Carolina and Washington seem to be contenders already, but Atlanta's going to get nothing but better, we have some promising, young players who are going to be good as well and Tampa Bay has really made strides this season."

What should make this division truly dominant is its goaltending. To win in the playoffs, one must be stellar in goal. Washington and Tampa Bay already have two of the best in Olaf Kolzig and Nikolai Khabibulin. Carolina has Kevin Weekes, who seems to finally be getting a chance to prove himself, while the Panthers have Roberto Luongo.

Atlanta has Kari Lehtonen, the second pick in June's draft who by all accounts is a future star, waiting in the wings.

The Hurricanes went to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, and the Capitals are made up of such stars as Jaromir Jagr, Peter Bondra, Sergei Gonchar and Robert Lang, but the three teams a few years from dominating are the Lightning, Panthers and Thrashers.

Tampa Bay: The Lightning has made the playoffs once in 10 years, but it could end a six-year drought this season. Teams that win in the playoffs have two elite centers, and the Lightning is developing Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards. Center Vaclav Prospal also looks like he's found a home. But Tampa also has other talent -- Martin St. Louis, Fredrik Modin, Ruslan Fedotenko, Pavel Kubina and Alexander Svitov. And Khabibulin is a comfortable backbone.

Panthers: They have stars in the making in Kristian Huselius, Jay Bouwmeester, Luongo and maybe Stephen Weiss. They have young talent up front in Niklas Hagman, Ivan Novoseltsev and Denis Shvidki and two forwards who look made to succeed in the playoffs -- Olli Jokinen and Marcus Nilson. Checkers like Peter Worrell and Ryan Johnson could also be valuable in the postseason. The Panthers also have Petr Taticek, Toni Koivisto and Greg Campbell, who look like players, on the way. Defensively there's a core developing with Bouwmeester, Branislav Mezei, Ivan Majesky and Brad Ference. Lukas Krajicek and Filip Novak are on the way. Plus it helps that a terrific talent and team guy, Sandis Ozolinsh, is providing the influence on the blue line.

Atlanta: Talk about a trifecta to build around -- Ilya Kovalchuk, Dany Heatley and Patrik Stefan. That's an electrifying nucleus. Defensively they need some help, but Yannick Tremblay and former Panthers prospect Daniel Tjarnqvist look like players. Fill in Lehtonen in goal and Atlanta has a solid future. Over the offseason the Thrashers wanted to add leadership, so Shawn McEachern was a quality addition.

"We're starting to develop as a division," Keenan said. "If people would ponder it a little bit and think about it, it will make sense. This division is going to be very strong, and it's starting to develop with our statures in the standings. But it's always a little bit of a surprise when it comes out of nowhere."

Rat recollections

Flames assistant coach Brian Skrudland, the Panthers' first captain, said he has several plastic rats in his memorabilia room.

"One is painted with a perfect sweater with the captain's `C' and Skrudland on the back," he said. "One woman gave all the team those. It didn't really look like me, I'd like to think, except for the same hairline, but it was really special."

Scott Mellanby, the Panthers' second captain, used to keep his rat in his locker stall.

Oilers shopping

The Edmonton Oilers, disappointed with their 6-7-3-1 start, are starting to dangle trade bait, reportedly Todd Marchant and maybe even Michael York, who has three goals in 29 games as an Oiler, and Georges Laraque.

One player who is a goner is Jiri Dopita, who has been a bust since he was called the "best player outside the NHL" a few years ago.

He's been put on IR in Edmonton, and GM Kevin Lowe is trying to find a Czech team to take him off his hands for about $600,000. Lowe knows he'll have to pay the rest of Dopita's $1.5 million.

One of the best things that happened to the Panthers was Dopita's refusing to sign with them for three straight summers. Not only can't he play in the NHL, he would have been a cancer because a number of veterans, like Mellanby and Ray Whitney, already were tired of his demands, such as having to be a top-line center and refusing to play in the minors.